1. Technical Field
The present application relates to a beverage bottling plant for filling bottles with a liquid beverage, having a filling element as described herein below and a filling machine as described herein below.
2. Background Information
A beverage bottling plant for filling bottles with a liquid beverage filling material can possibly comprise a beverage filling machine with a plurality of beverage filling positions, each beverage filling position having a beverage filling device for filling bottles with liquid beverage filling material. The filling devices may have an apparatus designed to introduce a predetermined volume of liquid beverage filling material into the interior of bottles to a substantially predetermined level of liquid beverage filling material. The apparatus designed to introduce a predetermined flow of liquid beverage filling material further comprises an apparatus that is designed to terminate the filling of the beverage bottles upon the liquid beverage filling material reaching the predetermined level in bottles. There may also be provided a conveyer arrangement that is designed to move bottles, for example, from an inspecting machine to the filling machine. Upon filling, a closing station closes the filled bottles. There may further be provided a conveyer arrangement configured to transfer filled bottles from the filling machine to the closing station. Bottles may be labeled in a labeling station, the labeling station having a conveyer arrangement to receive bottles and to output bottles. The closing station and the labeling station may be connected by a corresponding conveyer arrangement.
The prior art describes a wide variety of filling elements, in particular those used on filling machines that employ a rotary design. The prior art also discloses that these filling elements and the surfaces of the filling elements that come into contact with critical areas of the containers during the filling can be cleaned and/or rinsed in a cleaning or rinsing phase with a liquid or vapor-phase medium, for example. Critical areas of the containers include but are not limited to the interior surfaces of the containers and the surfaces in the vicinity of the mouths of the containers.
For cleaning and/or rinsing, it is customary to attach cap-like closing elements, for example on the filling elements in the vicinity of the dispensing openings through which, during the filling process, the liquid being bottled is introduced into the containers, specifically to form closed rinsing spaces. The filling elements, including their ducts and areas that come into contact with critical areas of the container, can then be rinsed and cleaned by means of the rinsing and cleaning medium, for example, which flows into the rinsing space or via the respective dispensing opening of the liquid duct and is removed via at least one additional duct that also empties into the rinsing space, for example via the return gas duct.